Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma in Newport Beach, California.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma Treatment at Morningside Recovery.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma sufferers also face addiction issues
Drinking to excess or abusing drugs are methods millions of people use to cope with events that are out of their hands, or that they find upsetting or that make them uncomfortable.
This holds true for the alcoholic who is trying to forget a lost relationship. Or a heroin addict who is attempting to suppress memories of his childhood with a needle.
For those who suffer severe trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it can be difficult to stop thinking about what happened to them during a specific life-threatening event. These experiences are much worse than those suffered by most of the population. And, like all who suffer from emotional and mental maladies, escape through self-medication can appear to be an attractive solution. For those in the armed forces, PTSD might be sparked by a battlefield situation – unspeakable traumas, such as a close buddy dying in their arms, or witnessing other horrors of war at close quarters.
Many of the firemen and emergency crews involved in the triple tragedies of 9/11 suffered extreme trauma. Then there are those who find themselves as witnesses, victims or volunteers at airplane crash sites or natural disasters such as hurricanes and fires. Many of them become burdened with PTSD or other trauma. And, of course, there are those who suffer rape, torture or severe beatings at the hands of others.
A common thread running through many of these victims is the urgent need to remove mental images of the event from their heads, and to steer clear of people and places that might be a reminder of their own personal hell. Another similarity is denial. Many who suffer PTSD or trauma don’t seek treatment, progressing instead to heavy drinking or drug use.
Symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, isolation from friends, irritability, constant replaying of the event that prompted the trauma, and distrust of people – even those close to the sufferer.
Trauma is an experience of being emotionally confronted by something that isn’t normally expected in childhood or during a lifetime. And a surprisingly large number of alcoholics and addicts report such symptoms after entering treatment.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis for addicts in drug and alcohol treatment. A report by the Navy Times claims 52 percent of those suffering PTSD have also been diagnosed with alcohol addiction and another 35 percent with drug abuse. That’s about double the rate of the general public for alcohol dependence. For drug abuse, it’s nearly three times that of adults in general. For some sufferers, addiction to alcohol or drugs begins after experiencing a traumatic event, and is used as a strategy to cope. For others, the addiction was already a problem before they experienced the trauma, so the event triggered even more abuse.
Once the addict seeks help, it is not uncommon for traumatic events from the past to emerge early in treatment. As a result, it is important to have a treatment program that offers recovery options for both addiction and PTSD or trauma.
As is the case for drug and alcohol addiction, trauma recovery is an event that occurs in stages. Safety is the first stage in the healing process, and it begins when the addict walks through the door for treatment. The client identifies the problem, becomes clean and sober, learns ways to remove themselves from destructive relationships and situations, and learns tools in order to stabilize moods and trauma.
The second stage involves mourning. This is a time to grieve about the losses that occurred to bring about PTSD or a major trauma. A therapist is a major factor in this stage, offering advice, knowledge and support.
And Stage Three is reconnecting – putting the pieces back together so the client can begin to blend in with his or her environment and accept others in a new light.
There are distinct similarities between recovery from alcohol and drug addiction and recovery from trauma/PTSD. Both require stability and then a thorough searching of other issues. The stability comes from working with therapists and counselors to treat both the PTSD and the addiction. In the case of trauma, that involves learning skills to cope with trauma, fully understanding the disorder, and in some cases, the introduction of medication.
Professional treatment for PTSD is available, and many who have suffered co-occurring disorders have healed from both the trauma and their drug or alcohol addiction.
At Morningside, Quality, Caring Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma Treatment is Affordable.
